title: Is dietary zinc protective for type 2 diabetes? Results from the Australian longitudinal study on women's health.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Animal studies have shown that zinc intake has protective effects against type 2 diabetes, but few studies have been conducted to examine this relationship in humans. The aim of this study is to investigate if dietary zinc is associated with risk of type 2 diabetes in a longitudinal study of mid-age Australian women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected from a cohort of women aged 45-50 years at baseline, participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary intake and other nutrients. Predictors of 6-year incidence of type 2 diabetes were examined using multivariable logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From 8921 participants, 333 incident cases of type 2 diabetes were identified over 6 years of follow-up. After adjustment for dietary and non-dietary factors, the highest quintile dietary zinc intake had almost half the odds of developing type 2 diabetes (OR = 0.50, 95% C.I. 0.32-0.77) compared with the lowest quintile. Similar findings were observed for the zinc/iron ratio; the highest quintile had half the odds of developing type 2 diabetes (OR = 0.50, 95% C.I 0.30-0.83) after multivariable adjustment of covariates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Higher total dietary zinc intake and high zinc/iron ratio are associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes in women. This finding is a positive step towards further research to determine if zinc supplementation may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Newcastle, HMRI Building, Callaghan-2308 Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Khanrin.vashum@newcastle.edu.au.
authors.forename: Khanrin Phungamla
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Vashum
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McEvoy
authors.forename: Zumin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Abul Hasnat
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Milton
authors.forename: Md Rafiqul
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sibbritt
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Byles
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Loxton
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Attia